Dehradun, June 2 -- The rising hooliganism on the streets, of various kinds, places a serious question mark on the image Uttarakhand has of itself. Incidents of road rage, youths quarreling, women being harassed, stunt driving, are just a few manifestations of this malaise. In a society that traditionally has maintained a respectful attitude towards each other, inspired by the culture of the hills and the educated civility of cities like Dehradun and Nainital, this new 'normal' comes as an unpleasant surprise.
This cultural shift may be due to an increased presence of 'outsiders' - persons who do not have much stake in maintaining the local norms - and because of the rampant decline in values on social media, which greatly influences the y...